Guiding Destinies
by Thunderxtw
Summary: Setsuka’s search for Mitsurugi has ended, later discovering that her first quest was just the beginning. There are other journeys to explore, but what lies ahead of her new adventure?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes**: Greetings everybody, my name is Thunderxtw and this will be my first Soul Calibur fic. I have wanted to make a fic regarding Soul Calibur for some time now, but never got around to it. This one will be about the new character, Setsuka. If I get some reviews, I will post more chapters, so please R&R. Anyway, I hope you all will like it. Enjoy!

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Frosty cold raindrops fell from the darkened sky in the shadowy weather of night, dampening the mossy stone grounds below. Such weather was unexpected, drawing dozens of people into their homes for the sake of warmth and dryness. Setsuka wandered through the quaint little town as she raised her oilpaper umbrella above her drizzling head. Her tall flopping Geta sandals splashed across the forming puddles of mucky water and the toes of her feet felt numbness, as the weather grew colder.

Looking through the openings of the homes she passed up, she could view the children cuddling in the warm arms of their loving parents. It almost brought a tear to her eye, for it reminded her of the man that used to take care of her, a man that took her into his own custody when she was young, adopting her as his child. During rainy nights like this, they were always together in each other's loving embracement, but Setsuka only had the Kimono the caretaker had given to her to keep herself warm now. She was on her own, with nobody to guide or take care of her but herself.

Setsuka's master, a bodyguard and swordsman, died from a horrific duel with a samurai warrior. Once this came to her attention, she panicked with unsettling tears forming underneath her eyelids. All the sword master had left Setsuka in his passing were the skills he knew of the battou-jutsu, the fighting style he used to protect his patrons, and his parting words to never seek vengeance against the man he had fought in battle. However, his death struck Setsuka so hard, she sought for revenge against the samurai anyway. Her journey to find the man called Heishiro Mitsurugi started slow with only minor clues of where she could find him, but later in the end, they finally crossed paths and a vicious battle between them was set off the moment Setsuka alerted the samurai and drew out her sword. Before she could deliver the final deathblow, Setsuka remembered her master's words and everything he had taught her since she was a child, telling her again that revenge was not the answer. With that, Setsuka withdrew her blade and proceeded to walk as far away from the motionless body of Mitsurugi as she could.

As the weather grew even colder with the rain pattering harder down her lively colored umbrella, Setsuka felt a sharp sting sink into her spine, her senses indicating someone or something was close by, stalking her in the shadows. She allowed the stalker to come closer, until they were within her very reach to grab. The follower drew closer to Setsuka, reaching for the small bag of gold that hung from around her slender waist. Immediately, Setsuka made a quick turnaround and grabbed the delicate hands of the stalker, who appeared to be shorter than what she had expected. The follower wore a mask like covering to conceal their identity and a fully black uniform to blend in with the darkness. Setsuka bent her knees down and peered into the eyes of the short stalker, glaring menacingly.

"Are you trying to rob somebody?" Setsuka scoffed. "It would seem you weren't very successful."

The stalker yanked free from Setsuka's grasp. "Let go of me!" Came the voice of a little frightened girl, pulling the mask from her face. "You'd rob too if you were in my position."

" A little girl? Why must you rob innocent people walking about?"

"It's none of your concern!" the girl retorted in a loud squeak.

Setsuka's face formed half of smile, but still kept her menacing glare intact.

"Well, I'll let this one go, but I better not catch you doing this again to me or anybody else. A child like you should not be out during this time of night."

"You can't tell me what to do," the girl declared.

Setsuka's smile faded, bending her knees down even further, staring into the timid girl's eyes.

"Go home!" she barked.

Setsuka watched as the little girl scurried away into the darkness, having no idea of where she ran off. It did not matter, as long as she went back home with her family where she belonged rather then be out in the cold wet night. All seemed well now, but Setsuka could not escape the thought that she was being followed again. She turned a corner down an alleyway to lose the follower. Of course, she was not successful in doing so as she could hear the loud sounds of feet pounding in the puddles of water behind her. Finally, she turned her back to face the stalker, thinking it was the little girl from before, but it simply was not. A large man wearing ragged clothes stood in front of her, showing the shine of his faulty gold teeth.

"Nice night, isn't it?" he smirked. "Shouldn't you be in doors?"

Setsuka gave a scowling expression, slightly unsheathing the iaito from the handle of her umbrella. She knew the man's intentions already before she gave an answer to his question.

"I go where I go," she said, coldly. "I don't need a stranger telling me where I should be."

The ragged clothed stranger chuckled as he approached Setsuka with a sparkle in his eye, bringing a group of three other men, also in ragged clothes, to appear behind her, bearing evil smiles.

"We're not used to seeing women such as yourself walk through here. Bad things can happen, you know?"

"I can predict where this is leading," Setsuka thought. "Foul dogs, have they nothing better to do then force themselves upon unsuspecting women?"

Setsuka did not expect a battle so quickly, but she had no choice. The riffraff in front of her were not the negotiable types. There was no other alternative but the use of violence. Neither of the thugs appeared to be very strong, intelligent, or clean, having Setsuka even distaste the thought of touching their putrid hairy bodies covered in filth with her hands and feet. It was obvious they were a gang of thieves looking to steal, beat, and rape anybody that wandered into their self-entitled territory, but Setsuka chose not to fall victim to their plans. A shrill of thunder aided by flickering lightning exploded in the sky and left Setsuka with the signal to attack.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the long wait everyone. Btw, Ryokan is an inn and shoji is a sliding door made of paper.  
_

A string of silence had beckoned the air, the tension roundly set with Setsuka seizing the hilt of her sword and swinging it swiftly at the first two hostiles. Her fast swing had missed, but retracted and stabbed one of the thieves in the joint of his leg. The other, realizing one of his companions was hurt, charged forward, only to have the bottom hilt of Setsuka's sword butt him in the throat and stomach, forcing him to let out a gurgling whimper. Next were the last two thieves who had pulled out knifes from underneath their clothes, moving into combative stances, surrounding Setsuka from the front and back in an attempt to rush her. In a timely manner, they lunged forward together, but once they came close enough for a quick stab, Setsuka ended their attacks, smashing the front of her large, clogging sandal into the groin of one and elbowing the other in the kidney with hard but successful effort. Dropping to their fallen knees, the bandits sat defeated, holding their wounded ligaments.

"Be gone! And don't let me catch any of you attacking lowly wanderers again!" Setsuka said, her eyes beaming with serious intent.

The thieves, though angry and disappointed with their loss, did as told and scurried out of the ally, disappearing into the shadows. Calmly, Setsuka sheathed her sword back into the inside hilt of her umbrella and set out to find a warm place to stay for the night. Her home was much too far away to just travel toward, and her feet began to grow weary from walking. "What a night," she said to herself. "Today has been quite an exercise. I now yearn for some rest."

She came to the nearest Ryokan, paying the fee and moving into a room where a warm futon laid in wait for her after sliding open the shoji. Taking off her clogging sandals, she nestled her bare feet against the tatami mat flooring and put her closed umbrella, with the iaito sword still held inside it, right on the flat table. She then removed her draping garments, which mostly consisted of the flowing, pink kimono given to her by her deceased master. Tiredly, she laid herself down and drifted off into the land of sleep upon where she felt most comfortable, never to awaken until the time of morning, where she would set off to find a new destiny. During her slumber, Setsuka's memories of her master came back in waves, remembering the good times they had shared together before his departing demise that left her cold and alone. The day they had first met was something she could never forget.

It was a cold, rainy night, and a frightened and poor Setsuka had nowhere to go as she ran through the desolate streets, hunting, searching for food and shelter. She was a drifter, roaming hourly through the harsh, angry weathers that seemed to be against her, just like the people that saw her up close. Because of her nonnative Japanese appearance, the locals looked down upon Setsuka as an outcast, a person that did not belong in their society. Feeling unwanted, she thought there was no hope for her, as she suddenly felt too weak to move, too weak to carry the weight of her tired legs any further as they crouched into the wet dirt. Then he appeared, a stranger with a steely face, brawny figure, and calming eyes. At first, petrified by his appearance, Setsuka put her crawling body in reverse to avoid him as he reached his hand out to touch the soaked pores in her illustrious skin. He meant the shuddering girl no harm; however, she thought differently, not expecting anything but crudeness from yet another stranger. Silently, he brought out something in front of him, something that Setsuka could not resist avoiding. It was food, the very thing her growling stomach had craved for hours. Offering it to her, he walked closer, but she backed away, afraid that it was some kind of trick. But it was not a trick, for the man was serious in his efforts to persuade her to eat.

"Come on. Don't be scared," he said, in a gentle tone that did not sound as harsh as she had envisioned "I know your hungry. Besides, I just had a little something earlier. Please, take it."

Setsuka eyed the object in his hand and moved toward him slowly, still on full alert. If he were to attack her, she would fight back and scurry off into the shadows to where he could not give chase, since, judging by his large appearance, he did not look very fast. However, he did no such thing and watched as she took hold of his half bitten meal and ate it. His gentle voice then spoke to her again. "Are you out here all by yourself?"

Setsuka did not speak, only nodding her head to confirm the answer to his question.

"You want to come home with me?"

She pondered the thought for a minute, not knowing if she could trust him. He seemed nice, but she remained cautious on that aspect.

"Tell you what, why don't you stay over with me for a little bit? And if you don't like it, you can leave. How about that?"

In agreement, Setsuka nodded again and followed him home by the soft grip of his hand. She was shy and nervous around him, but he was as gentle as a lamb and did not portray the incentive of wanting to hurt her. From that point on, as she spent time with him, she started to accept his politeness.

Setsuka soon woke up the following morning, fully rested, and relaxed. She decided to depart from the Ryokan, but not before taking a dip in the hot springs first. The warm water touched her skin the moment she sat down, folding her arms and leaning herself against the wall behind her. Gradually, her jaded eyes closed in a fold as if she were asleep, though she was indeed wide-awake. Her peaceful relaxation did not last long, however, for from the outside of the springs she heard a disoriented squeal, sounding of someone in grave danger. With an alerted gasp, Setsuka climbed out of the water and gripped tightly the collar of her Kimono as she threw it on, next moving to grab the handle of her umbrella and then rushing into action as trickles of water leaked on the ground from her body.

In the center area up ahead of Setsuka, four men dressed in rags, most likely more thieves, had trapped a little girl in the outside corner of a shop. She ran forward, coming to notice that cornered girl was not a stranger, but the same girl who tried to steal from her last night. Nevertheless, Setsuka looked past that, quickly drawing her blade from its concealment, alerting the surrounding thieves with an ear-piercing screech just before she attacked. Just as they had spotted her, one lashed out with a curled sword in hand, taking the first swipe at Setsuka's pale flesh. The long piece of fragmented steel missed the target, instead clashing loudly and creating sparks after having hit the middle of the non-Japanese woman's iaito sword. Defensively, Setsuka guarded herself against all the strikes with her blade fixed in front of her. With her irritated tiredness of fooling around, the geisha like female charged when she saw an opening in the man's swing, taking advantage as he took time to bring his sword back toward him for another strike. However, Setsuka did not allow him to get that following strike in, as she stabbed his leg with a quick jab downward. The thief fell to his knees, dropping his sword, and Setsuka ran past him to take care of the rest. The last remaining three did not seem like pushovers, but they never dealt with a woman like Setsuka before. Using her quick speed, she slashed at the arm of one, drawing little spurts of blood from his elbow, repositioning herself to leap toward the next, and quickly slicing a few lines in his stomach. It did not take long before she had marked them all as a symbol of warning. Feeling outmatched, the thieves retreated and headed far away into the distance before having to feel the sting of Setsuka's blade touch them once more. Carefully examining the little girl who was once cornered, Setsuka stood over her. "I did not expect our paths to cross again so soon," she said. "Whatever did you do to get those dogs after you?"

"You! Your that strange woman from last night!" shouted the girl.

"Strange? What's a little girl like you doing out here all by yourself? That's what I call strange. Where are your parents?"

"Don't worry about me…and just worry about yourself!"

The girl leaped at Setsuka, intending to grab and steal her gold again, but her only reward was meeting a hard ramming forearm and kissing the dirt below.

"Would you be willing to try that again?" Setsuka said with a smirk. "I suggest you go home, child. I have no means to hurt you."

"Shut up! I can take you on anyway I like."

"Really?" Setsuka stepped back. "If you couldn't take those guys on, what makes you think you can handle me?"

"I can beat you, you just got lucky that's all. Ugly woman."

"Ugly huh? Call me whatever you want. Your insults mean nothing to me. I've been called many of names worse than ugly."

"I can see why. You don't look like your from around here. Are you one of those creatures I've heard about?"

"Creatures? What creatures?" Setsuka asked, as she leaned toward the girl's face.

"I hear stories about creatures from my father. He tells me a lot of them. But the one that scares me the most is the one about a creature that wanders this world in azure armor."

"Azure armor?"

"Yes. My father says he'll come and get me if I'm bad, that he'll eat me."

"Eat you? I've never heard of such a creature. And why would your father say something like that to you anyway?"

"I don't know, but I don't think that creature really exists. It's all just lies to scare people for fun, especially about the part of him carrying a massive living sword around that he impales people with when he sees them."

"Massive living sword?"

Setsuka reflected back to the memories of Mitsurugi, when she was once pursuing him for revenge against fatally wounding her father and master. She recalled that during their battle, the samurai mumbled something about tracking down a large sword that possessed unimaginable power. A creature believed to be roaming the land of Europe, terrorizing the population, wielded the same sword that Mitsurugi sought after to obtain. What made the sword seem so special to the samurai, Setsuka did not know, and yet she did not show any reason to care. The powerful sword probably existed. As for the creature, Setsuka did not care to worry if the monster the girl had spoken of was real or not. Looking down at the girl, Setsuka took her by the hand and held it firmly. "I am taking you to your parents. It isn't safe out here with all these bandits and so called creatures you speak of moving about."


	3. Chapter 3

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_**Guiding Destinies**_

_**Chapter 3 **_

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A strong sensation of uneasiness tingled within her muscles, slowing her walk some on the way through town. Compared to most, the entity behind this one was much greater, a strong feeling too foreign to comprehend.

Setsuka struggled to keep her emotions suppressed so she would not frighten the child, the fear gripping her heart. The challenge heightened when her gaze rose to see the public screaming, fleeing in the very direction they came. Eyes widened and without a word, she took the rebellious girl by the arm, ducking away to avoid being trampled by the incoming stampede. Whatever drove them away made them unwilling to stick around for an explanation.

An eerie silence then replaced the commotion, the area now deserted and reduced to a wreck. Her eyes peeked about the corner to identify the source of this danger. Nothing there at first. Perhaps it was all in her head. However, a second glance told her otherwise. There she saw it, thudding, clattering straight into town. A beast sheathed in azure armor, wielding a massive sword that wiped out half a dozen people within a single swipe when they tried to flee. It slew those unfortunate to escape without remorse, leaving but a trail of death and destruction that made Setsuka grimace.

_'So it is real...'_

Setsuka pondered, against jumping out and making a run for it. She felt the girl shivering in her arms underneath her kimono, that defiant scowl no longer visible upon her petite face.

Only one thing to do now.

Setsuka knelt to the ground, looking deep into the child's eyes. "Listen." She tore the girl's hands from her face, speaking in a much softer tone than usual. "I want you to run as fast as you can. Get as far away from here as possible." Her head turned, hearing the footsteps getting closer, her heart beginning to pulsate.

"I…I can't." The girl seemed too paralyzed to move from the spot she stood, lips quivering. "That thing will get me."

Her head shook, eyes filled with faith and determination. "I won't let it. I have a plan. But you must leave first. Just don't look back. Trust me."

"But…I'm not supposed to take advice from strangers." She could hear her voice breaking into a whimper.

"Don't worry about that. I'm not a stranger to you, not anymore. Now, please, go!" Setsuka stood with a reassured nod, the girl doing the same before breaking into a sprint in the direction where the other townspeople had fled.

The beast turned at the girl in acknowledgement, just as she had expected. It began its pursuit, pointing its sword at its next victim. Not long before Setsuka came to block its path, her iaito drawn in preparation from its concealment. A scowl crept across her forehead, teeth gritting upon closer inspection of the inevitable.

The creature paused, tipping its head to the side before stomping, shaking the earth beneath them. "My name is Nightmare. And I have come for your soul!" He snarled.

_'So…it has a name…'_

"My soul is not yours to take…demon." Setsuka did not move, instead choosing to stare the monster down. She ignored the cold sweat moving along her brow, awaiting his move as he shifted into a battle stance.

He attacked first, starting with a thunderous charge that she imitated as well. Rather than bump heads, their swords clanked upon contact, the metallic noise ringing out across town. The impact was enough to knock her back, giving clue as to just how tremendous his power was.

She used her iaito to help her stand, seeing him repeat his last tactic. A faint glow began to manifest at the tip of his blade. Then came the swipe of her oilpaper umbrella as he neared, followed by the iaito mimicking the same action. The blow succeeded in catching Nightmare off guard, his armored body smashing straight into a nearby shop. He soon recovered, seeming unharmed, but that did little to slow her momentum.

Using her umbrella, she masked her tactics well to avoid predictability. Swift vertical and horizontal slashes seemed to have him on edge, unable to anticipate where she would strike next. A plethora of groans signaled his exhaustion as the fight carried on, but he showed no will to surrender. Setsuka had no doubt that this was a trap, one the swordsman often played with her in practice.

His demonic eyes illuminated with anger as he gripped his sword with both hands and swung for her head. Setsuka used the most of her superior speed, ducking each attack, as it was likely to have enough force to behead her in an instant. He must have figured that his plot failed, but he was not going to disclose that to her.

She went to make the next move, but tripped in her attempt, the sword falling from her grasp, leaving herself wide open to his advantage.

He kicked her in the head with his boot, the bulk sending her to the ground back-first with a pained grunt. For a moment, the world around Setsuka went into a nauseating spin before all shifted to black. He placed his foot against her abdomen, seeming to press all his weight into it, compressing the oxygen in her lungs. She groaned with his frequent chuckles, her abilities now limited.

Eyes opening, she saw his shadow loom over her, blade raised high above his head to execute the final blow. Her arm stretched for the iaito that seemed further away than it was, but he kicked it aside to a distance she could not reach to get it.

Chances of a victory had now become slim as realization sunk in.

She was at his mercy… unable to attack… unable to save herself. In seconds, she would be a victim too, just like those he had slew before.

At least the girl had escaped to safety, but she had her own self to worry about now.

His cackle displayed his confidence. "Soon…you shall become apart of me."

Setsuka frowned, shaking her head in desperation.

Then he hesitated, a great white light surrounding his body as it did hers too. She sat stunned, mouth unable to form words over what was happening. Then she used this distraction as an opportunity to retrieve her weapon, ready to lance it straight between the demon's eyes. He blocked her jab and for a moment, she thought she could note a smile from under his horned helmet.

Setsuka watched as their bodies became transparent, his more so than hers. Perhaps this was some trick of his to gain the upper hand. However, his confusion indicated that none of this was his doing. It left only one question, and Setsuka was unsure if she could put it into an answer.

A large portal then emerged, expanding itself behind him, offering no hints as to where it would lead. One thing was for sure, neither of them wanted to find out.

As it grew in size, so did its strength, beginning to swallow them both whole. Setsuka dug her nails into the ground to remain stationary, but could feel herself slipping forward with Nightmare into the void. An electrical shock surged through her, enough to weaken her from resisting anymore.

Darkness overtook Setsuka's mind, thinking that death was only a mere breath away.

The world flashed once more before all went silent.

_"I guess this is the end…"_ came her final thought.


End file.
